Signaling uplink control information in lte-a

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems for transmitting uplink control information in an LTE Advanced system are disclosed. A user device may determine whether uplink control information and/or available channels meet certain criteria and determine whether the uplink control information should be transmitted on a physical uplink control channel, a physical uplink shared channel, or both, based on the criteria. Criteria may include the size of the uplink control information (absolute size or relative to space available on a channel or a threshold value), the type of control information bits, the number of available (i.e., active or configured) component carriers, and the amount of power that may be required to transmit the uplink control information on more than one channel.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/218,782, filed Jun. 19, 2009, and U.S. Provisional Application No.61/220,017, filed Jun. 24, 2009, both of which are hereby incorporatedby reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

In order to support higher data rate and spectrum efficiency, the ThirdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) systemhas been introduced into 3GPP Release 8 (R8). (LTE Release 8 may bereferred to herein as LTE R8 or R8-LTE.) In LTE, transmissions on theuplink are performed using Single Carrier Frequency Division MultipleAccess (SC-FDMA). In particular, the SC-FDMA used in the LTE uplink isbased on Discrete Fourier Transform Spread Orthogonal Frequency DivisionMultiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM) technology. As used hereafter, the termsSC-FDMA and DFT-S-OFDM are used interchangeably.

In LTE, a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), alternatively referredto as a user equipment (UE), transmits on the uplink using only alimited, contiguous set of assigned sub-carriers in a Frequency DivisionMultiple Access (FDMA) arrangement. For example, if the overallOrthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) signal or systembandwidth in the uplink is composed of useful sub-carriers numbered 1 to100, a first given WTRU may be assigned to transmit on sub-carriers1-12, a second WTRU may be assigned to transmit on sub-carriers 13-24,and so on. While the different WTRUs may each transmit into only asubset of the available transmission bandwidth, an evolved Node-B(eNodeB) serving the WTRUs may receive the composite uplink signalacross the entire transmission bandwidth.

LTE Advanced (which includes LTE Release 10 (R10) and may include futurereleases such as Release 11, also referred to herein as LTE-A, LTE R10,or R10-LTE) is an enhancement of the LTE standard that provides afully-compliant 4G upgrade path for LTE and 3G networks. In both LTE andLTE-A, there is a need for certain associated layer 1/layer 2 (L1/2)uplink control information (UCI) to support the UL transmission,downlink (DL) transmission, scheduling, multiple-input multiple-output(MIMO), etc. In LTE-A, power settings for uplink channels, respectively,may be done independently. What is needed in the art are systems andmethods for providing uplink control information and dealing with thepower issues that may arise when using multiple uplink channels.

SUMMARY

Methods and systems for transmitting uplink control information (UCI) inan LTE Advanced system are disclosed. A user equipment device (UE) maydetermine whether uplink control information should be transmittedacross PUCCH and PUSCH (a subset of the bits transmitted on PUCCH andthe remaining bits transmitted on PUSCH) based on whether the number ofbits in the UCI is less than or equal to a threshold that may beprovided to the UE. If the number of UCI bits is less than or equal tothe threshold, the UCI bits may be transmitted on the PUCCH, whereas ifthe number of UCI bits is above the threshold, the UCI bits may betransmitted on both the PUSCH and the PUCCH in the same subframe. Inanother embodiment, the number of UCI bits may be compared to a second,higher threshold and if the number of UCI bits exceeds the second,higher threshold, all the UCI bits may be transmitted on the PUSCH. Inanother embodiment, if all UCI bits will fit onto the PUCCH, they may betransmitted on the PUCCH. If all the bits will not fit onto the PUCCH,they may be transmitted on both the PUCCH and the PUSCH in the samesubframe. In another embodiment, a relative size of the UCI may bedetermined (i.e., the size the UCI payload compared to the size of thecapacity of a shared channel, e.g., PUSCH) and if the relative size isbelow a threshold, the UCI bits may be transmitted on PUSCH only.

In another embodiment, the type of UCI bits may be determined, and ifcertain types of bits are present (e.g., ACK/NACK bits), the bits of thecertain type may be transmitted on one channel, such as the PUCCH, whilethe remaining bits may be transmitted on a second channel, such as thePUSCH. Alternatively, the number of downlink component carriers (DL CCs)that are active, or alternatively configured, and the use oftransmission modes supported in LTE Release 8 may be taken into account.If the number of DL CCs is not one or transmission modes supported inLTE Release 8 are not used, a subset of UCI bits may be transmitted onPUCCH while, in the same subframe, the remaining bits may be transmittedon PUSCH. If the number of DL CCs is one and transmission modessupported in LTE Release 8 are used, the UCI may be evaluated todetermine whether the contents contain certain types of UCI bits (e.g.,ACK/NACK, CQI/PMI, RI) and a determination as to which channel(s) to usefor transmitting such bits may be made. The priority or primary DL CCsmay also be evaluated when multiple DL CCs are available (active or,alternatively, configured), and UCI bits associated with a primary orhighest priority DL CC may be transmitted on PUCCH with the remainingbits being transmitted on PUSCH.

The amount of power that may be required to transmit the uplink controlinformation on more than one channel may also be evaluated. If a UEdetermines that transmitting the UCI bits across both PUSCH and PUCCHwill exceed a maximum power threshold, the UE may transmit the UCI bitson only one of the PUSCH and PUCCH or scale down PUSCH and/or PUCCHpower. In embodiments where multiple PUSCHs are available, various meansmay be used to determine which PUSCH should be used to transmit UCIbits, including determining an appropriate PUSCH based on UCI payloadsize, PUSCH data payload size, or the relationship between UCI payloadsize and the carrying capacity of the available PUSCHs. These andadditional aspects of the current disclosure are set forth in moredetail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following detailed description of disclosed embodiments is betterunderstood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For thepurposes of illustration, there is shown in the drawings exemplaryembodiments; however, the subject matter is not limited to the specificelements and instrumentalities disclosed. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates a non-limiting exemplary user equipment, eNodeB, andMME/S-GW on which methods and systems for signaling uplink controlinformation as disclosed herein may be implemented.

FIG. 2 illustrates a non-limiting exemplary network environment in whichmethods and systems for signaling uplink control information asdisclosed herein may be implemented.

FIG. 3 illustrates a non-limiting exemplary system for transmittingACK/NACK bits for different downlink carriers.

FIG. 4 illustrates non-limiting exemplary means for using multiple PUCCHRB resources in a PUCCH region for UCI transmission.

FIG. 5 illustrates non-limiting exemplary means for transmitting UCI onboth PUCCH and PUSCH from a UE in a system utilizing downlinkcoordinated multi-point transmission (DL COMP).

FIG. 6 illustrates a non-limiting exemplary method of determining how tosignal UCI.

FIG. 7 illustrates another non-limiting exemplary method of determininghow to signal UCI.

FIG. 8 illustrates another non-limiting exemplary method of determininghow to signal UCI.

FIG. 9 illustrates another non-limiting exemplary method of determininghow to signal UCI.

FIG. 10 illustrates another non-limiting exemplary method of determininghow to signal UCI.

FIG. 11 illustrates another non-limiting exemplary method of determininghow to signal UCI.

FIG. 12 illustrates another non-limiting exemplary method of determininghow to signal UCI.

FIG. 13 illustrates another non-limiting exemplary method of determininghow to signal UCI.

FIG. 14 illustrates another non-limiting exemplary method of determininghow to signal UCI.

FIG. 15 illustrates another non-limiting exemplary method of determininghow to signal UCI.

FIG. 16 illustrates another non-limiting exemplary method of determininghow to signal UCI.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrates non-limiting, exemplary UE 101 that may implement thepresent subject matter and features of LTE-A. UE 101 may be a wirelesstransmit and receive unit (WTRU) of any type, including a mobiletelephone, a smart phone, a personal data assistant (PDA), a laptop, orany other device that may wirelessly communicate with one or more otherdevices or networks. In some embodiments, UE 101 may be configured tocommunicate with an LTE-A network or system. UE 101 may be configuredwith processor 140, which may be communicatively connected with memory150 and may draw power from a power source, such as battery 160, whichmay also provide power to any or all of the other components of UE 101.Processor 140 may be configured to perform UCI signaling and relatedfunctions as disclosed herein, as well as any other functions disclosedherein and/or any other functions that may be performed by a processorconfigured in a UE. Memory 150 may be configured to store data,including computer executable instructions to perform any functiondescribed herein or any other function that may be performed by a UE. UE101 may also be configured with one or more antennas 110 a-d, which maytransmit data received from one or more transceivers 120 a-d to a basestation, eNodeB, or other network device, and may provide data from sucha device to one or more transceivers 120 a-d.

Transceivers 120 a-d and/or antennas 110 a-d may be communicativelyconnected to antenna mapping/precoding module 130. Antennamapping/precoding module 130 may be communicatively connected toprocessor 140. Note that any or all of the components illustrated inFIG. 1 may be physically the same component or combined into a singlephysical unit, or alternatively may be physically separate. For example,antenna mapping/precoding module 130, processor 140, and transceivers120 a-d may be physically configured on a single microchip, or may eachbe configured on individual microchips. Any variations of suchconfigurations are contemplated as within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

UE 101 may be configured to communicate wirelessly with eNodeB 170. Inaddition to components that may be found in a typical eNodeB, eNodeB 170may include processor 173, which may be any processor or multipleprocessors that may be configured to perform eNodeB functions and/or thesubject matter disclosed herein. Processor 173 may be communicativelyconnected to memory 174, which may be any type of memory or combinationof memory types, including volatile and non-volatile memory. eNodeB 170may also be configured with transceivers 172 a-d, which may becommunicatively connected to antennas 171 a-d, configured to facilitatewireless communications, for example, with UE 101 in an LTE or LTE-Asystem. Multiple transmit and/or receive antennas may be configured oneNodeB 170 in order to facilitate MIMO and/or other technologies thatmay take advantage of such multiple antennas.

eNodeB 170 may be communicatively connected, via one or more wireless orwired communications connections, to Mobility Management Entity/ServingGateway (MME/S-GW) 180. MME/S-GW 180 may be configured with processor181 which may be any processor or multiple processors that may beconfigured to perform MME/S-GW functions and/or the subject matterdisclosed herein. Processor 181 may be communicatively connected tomemory 182, which may be any type of memory or combination of memorytypes, including volatile and non-volatile memory. In one embodiment, UE101, eNodeB 170, and/or MME/S-GW 180 are configured to implement UCIsignaling in an LTE-A system as disclosed herein.

DFT-S-OFDM may be used as a communications means from UE 101 to eNodeB170 (i.e., in uplink). DFT-S-OFDM is a form of OFDM transmission withthe additional constraint that the time-frequency resource assigned to aUE consists of a set of frequency-consecutive sub-carriers. An LTEuplink may not include a direct current (DC) sub-carrier. The LTE uplinkmay include one mode of operation wherein frequency hopping can beapplied to transmissions by a UE. In the LTE Release 8 (R8) uplink (UL),there is a need for certain associated layer 1/layer 2 (L1/2) uplinkcontrol information (UCI) to support the UL transmission, downlink (DL)transmission, scheduling, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), etc.For example, UE 101 may be configured to provide UCI to eNodeB 170periodically and/or aperiodically. UCI may consist of hybrid automaticrepeat request (HARQ) acknowledgement/negative acknowledgement(ACK/NACK) which may be 1 or 2 bits, channel status reporting includinga channel quality indicator (CQI), a precoding matrix indicator (PMI),and/or rank indicator (RI) which may be 4-11 bits when transmitted on aphysical uplink control channel (PUCCH), and a scheduling request (SR)which may be 1 bit. These examples of numbers of bits for these types ofUCI correspond to the number of bits for these types in LTE Release 8.The number of bits for these types is not limited to these values andother embodiments are contemplated as within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

In embodiments and examples described herein that refer to CQI, PMI, andRI bit types specifically, these embodiments may be easily extended toinclude additional UCI bit types that may be supported by a UE andreported periodically or aperiodically. These embodiments and examplesmay also be easily extended to replace any one or more of the CQI, PMI,and RI bit types with other types of UCI bits that may be supported by aUE and reported periodically or aperiodically.

In LTE Release 8, UCI may be transmitted, for example by UE 101, in oneof two ways. In the absence of assigned Physical UL Shared Channel(PUSCH) resources in a subframe, the UE 101 may transmit the UCI usingPhysical UL Control Channel (PUCCH) resources. When UL data is presentor the UE is otherwise transmitting data on a physical uplink sharedchannel (PUSCH), UCI signaling may take place on PUSCH and may bemultiplexed with data on the PUSCH. However, in Release 8, simultaneoustransmission of PUCCH and PUSCH is not supported. In addition, thesimultaneous transmission of ACK/NACK and CQI by a UE may not be enabledby UE-specific higher layer signaling. In this case, the CQI is dropped,and only the ACK/NACK is transmitted using the PUCCH, which may resultin some degradation in the scheduling and rate adaptation accuracy.

In LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), introduced in 3GPP Release 10 (R10),simultaneous PUSCH and PUCCH transmission, for example by UE 101, may besupported and the single-carrier constraint on UL waveform is relaxed.In Release 10, both frequency-contiguous and frequency-non-contiguousresource allocation on each UL component carrier is supported.

In LTE-A, it is anticipated that the UCI size (number of UCI bits) willbe increased, compared to LTE, taking into account the new featuresincluding coordinated multipoint transmission (COMP), higher order DLMIMO, bandwidth extension, and Relay. For example, in order to supporthigh order MIMO (e.g., 8×8 MIMO) and/or COMP, a large amount of channelstatus reports (CQI/PM/RI) may be fed back to the serving eNodeB (andpossibly neighboring eNodeB(s) in COMP implementations). The UCIoverhead will be further increased by the use of asymmetric bandwidthextension. Accordingly, the payload size of Release 8 LTE PUCCH may notbe sufficient to carry the increased UCI overhead (even for a single DLcomponent carrier) in LTE-A. UCI signaling in LTE-A may be more flexiblethan UCI signaling in LTE, allowing for more configurations in UCIsignaling in LTE-A. Due to this, and since the UCI size (number of UCIbits) may be larger in LTE-A, new configurations to support theincreased UCI size may be needed. In some embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the capability of simultaneous PUSCH and PUCCH transmissionis taken advantage of in order to transmit the UCI signaling that may begenerated in an LTE-A system, or any other system.

In addition, as the power settings for the PUSCH and PUCCH,respectively, are done independently, some rules for LTE-A UCI signalingare set forth herein for embodiments that take advantage of thesimultaneous PUCCH and PUSCH transmission in a subframe for thesituations where the sum of the power levels of the PUSCH and PUCCHreaches or exceeds the given maximum transmit power.

Note that as used herein, a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) maybe an LTE or LTE-A PUCCH, which is an uplink channel that carries uplinkcontrol information. Alternatively, a PUCCH as used herein can be anychannel or multiple channels or other wireless communications means thatmay be used, exclusively or non-exclusively, to transmit controlinformation for an uplink. As used herein, a physical uplink sharedchannel (PUSCH) may be an LTE or LTE-A PUSCH, which is an uplink channelthat carries user data (i.e., SCH data). Alternatively, a PUSCH as usedherein can be any channel or multiple channels or other wirelesscommunication means that may be used, exclusively or non-exclusively, totransmit user data on an uplink. A PUSCH as used herein may also carrycontrol information. Uplink control information (UCI) as used herein maybe specific LTE or LTE-A control information, or UCI may be any controlinformation used in any wireless system carried on any type of channelor wireless communications means. All such embodiments are contemplatedas within the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows wireless communication system/access network 200 which maybe configured as part of or as an entire LTE or LTE-A system. Network200 may include Evolved-Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network(E-UTRAN) 250. E-UTRAN 250 may include UE 210, which may be any type ofUE or WTRU, including UE 101 of FIG. 1, and one or more evolved Node Bs(eNodeBs) 220 a, 220 b, and 220 c, which may be any device configured toperform the functions of an eNodeB, such as eNodeB 170 of FIG. 1. Asshown in FIG. 2, the UE 210 may be in communication with eNodeB 220 a.eNodeBs 220 a, 220 b, and 220 c may interface with each other using anX2 interface. eNodeBs 220 a, 220 b, and 220 c may also be connected toMobility Management Entity (MME)/Serving Gateway(S-GW) 230 a and/or 230b, through an Si interface. MME/S-GWs 230 a and 230 b may be any deviceconfigured to perform the functions of an MME/S-GW, such as MME/S-GW 180of FIG. 1. Although a single UE 210 and three eNodeBs 220 a, 220 b, and220 c are shown in FIG. 2, it is contemplated that any number andcombination of wireless and wired devices may be included in network200.

In some embodiments implemented in an LTE-A system, it may be desirableto transmit UL control information (UCI) from a UE to an eNodeB in orderto support UL user data transmissions and other UL transmissions, DLuser data transmissions and other DL transmission, scheduling data, MIMOdata, etc. UCI may include, but is not limited to, HARQ ACK/NACK(s),channel status reporting, CQI/PMI/RI, and/or scheduling request(s) (SR).It should be noted that the term of “user data” as used herein can beinterchangeable with “SCH (shared channel) data”. A UE may transmit UCIon PUCCH or PUSCH. Table 1 shows PUCCH formats defined for LTE that maybe used in some embodiments and the corresponding UCI contents. Formats2a and 2b are supported for normal cyclic prefix only. In someembodiments, when transmitting UCI on PUSCH, the same formats may beused.

TABLE 1 PUCCH Formats and Corresponding UCI contents Number PUCCHModulation of bits per Format Scheme subframe, M_(bit) UCI 1  N/A N/A SR1a BPSK 1 ACK/NACK (SR) 1b QPSK 2 ACK/NACK (SR) 2  QPSK 20 CQI/PMI/RI 2aQPSK + BPSK 21 CQI/PMI/RI & ACK/NACK 2b QPSK + QPSK 22 CQI/PMI/RI &ACK/NACK

The time and frequency resources that may be used by a UE to report UCImay be controlled by an eNodeB. Some UCI, such as CQI, PMI, and RIreporting may be periodic or aperiodic. In some embodiments, aperiodicreports may provide similar data to that provided by periodic reports,as well as additional data. In such embodiments, if both periodic andaperiodic reporting would occur in the same subframe, the UE may beconfigured to only transmit the aperiodic report in that subframe.

The CQI and PMI payload sizes of each PUCCH reporting mode may bepredetermined, for example provided by 3GPP standard specifications.Other UCI type payload sizes of each PUCCH reporting mode may bepredetermined, for example provided by 3GPP standard specifications.

In order to handle the increased UCI sizes and higher volumes of uplinkcontrol information (UCI) that may occur in LTE-A systems, severalembodiments introduced by the present disclosure may be used. Some ofthe embodiments disclosed herein take advantage of the simultaneousPUSCH and PUCCH transmission capabilities of LTE-A.

In an embodiment, alternative configurations for signaling UCI from a UEin an LTE-A system may be employed in addition to the LTE UCI signalingmethods. In a first such embodiment, multiple PUCCH transmissions may beused for multiple UCI fields or reports. Multiple PUCCH transmissions(or resources), for multiplexing multiple UCI fields/reports may beimplemented such that multiple PUCCH transmissions are eithercode-multiplexed or frequency-multiplexed. For example, in LTE when thetransmission of channel quality indicator (CQI) collides with thescheduling request (SR) transmission in the same subframe, the CQI isdropped. However, in LTE-A, it is possible to have CQI and SRtransmitted simultaneously in the same subframe using code divisionmultiplexing (CDM) (i.e., using different orthogonal phase rotations ofa cell-specific sequence) or frequency division multiplexing (FDM)(i.e., using different resource blocks (RBs)). Accordingly, a UE maymultiplex the PUCCH format 1 (possibly with 1a/1b) and format 2(possibly with 2a/2b) to simultaneously transmit them over multiplePUCCH resources. Alternatively, multiple PUCCH transmissions may beconsidered to transmit high volume LTE-A UCI from a UE.

In embodiments implementing UCI signaling over multiple PUCCH resources,CDM, FDM, or time division multiplexing (TDM), or any combinationthereof, may be used to signal UCI. In one embodiment, when high volumeUCI is needed, the UCI may be transmitted from a UE over multiple PUCCHresources using CDM (i.e., different phase rotations of a cell-specificsequence). In such embodiments, different orthogonal phase rotations(equivalently cyclic shifts) of a cell-specific length-12 frequencydomain (or time domain) sequence may be applied for each bit (or a groupof bits, or different control fields) of UCI. For example, in the caseof asymmetric bandwidth extension (such as 2 DL component carriers and 1UL component carrier), HARQ ACK/NACK bits for different DL componentcarriers may be transmitted in a single UL carrier using different phaserotations of a cell-specific sequence. Alternatively or additionally, asillustrated in FIG. 3, ACK/NACK bits for different DL carriers (ACK/NACKbits 310 and 320) may be transmitted (on the same time-frequencyresource) using the same phase rotated sequence, but using differentorthogonal cover sequences, w¹ and w² for Carrier-1 and Carrier-2,respectively.

An eNodeB may configure a UE to multiplex multiple UCI fields/reports ina subframe by Layer 1 or 2 (L1/2) signaling or higher layer signaling.In embodiments that employ multiple PUCCH transmissions, if the totaltransmit power of the multiple PUCCHs exceeds the UE's maximum transmitpower, denoted as Pmax, (or Pmax+P_threshold, where P_threshold is athreshold), then the UE may piggyback to the LTE UE procedure, (i.e., bydropping a low priority feedback report, such as CQI/PMI).

An eNodeB may employ blind detection for the multiple PUCCHtransmissions to determine which PUCCH transmissions (UCI fields) areapplied in the subframe. Alternatively, some of the powerreduction/back-off approaches disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser.No. 12/703,092, filed Feb. 9, 2010, entitled “APPARATUS AND METHOD FORUPLINK POWER CONTROL FOR A WIRELESS TRANSMITTER/RECEIVER UNIT UTILIZINGMULTIPLE CARRIERS”, which is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety, may be used, in some embodiments with some modification. Forexample, after calculating the power levels for each PUCCH, if the sumof the powers exceeds Pmax, then the respective transmit power may beadjusted with an equal power or a relative power (depending on thepriority of the individual channel) in order to comply with the maximumpower limitation. Another option for the power setting for multiplePUCCHs is to modify the LTE PUCCH power control such as introducing apower offset for the individual PUCCH. Exceeding maximum allowed CCtransmit power(s) may instead of or in addition to exceeding Pmax beconsidered for these decisions.

In an alternative embodiment, UCI signaling over multiple PUCCHresources may be implemented using FDM. In such an embodiment, each bit(or a group of bits like ACK/NACK bits and CQI bits, or differentcontrol fields) of UCI may be transmitted using a different RB pairwithin a pre-configured PUCCH region (i.e., PUCCH resources). FIG. 4illustrates an example of using multiple PUCCH RB resources (FDM based)in PUCCH region 410 to transmit high volume UCI (e.g., multiple UCIreports) such that ACK/NACK is transmitted over RB 420 correspondingm=0, while in the same subframe CQI/PMI/RI is transmitted over adifferent RB, such as RB 430 corresponding m=2. Alternatively oradditionally, in the case of asymmetric bandwidth extension (such as 2DL component carriers and 1 UL component carrier), UCI bit(s) fordifferent DL component carriers may be transmitted over different RBpairs such as m=0, 2 for Carrier-1 and Carrier-2, respectively.

In another embodiment, UCI signaling over multiple PUCCH resources maybe implemented using TDM. In such an embodiment, each bit (or a group ofbits like ACK/NACK bits and CQI bits, or different control fields) ofUCI may be transmitted with time division base (TDB) on an OFDM symbolbasis, on a slot basis, or on a subframe basis.

Note that in the above UCI signaling over multiple PUCCH resourcesembodiments, the UE may be configured by an eNodeB through higher layersignaling (or L1 signaling) regarding which PUCCH resources(time/frequency/code) are allocated to the UE. In these embodiments, theR8 LTE PUCCH formats may be maintained as specified in the 3GPP standardspecification; that is, maintaining backward compatibility to R8 LTE. Inaddition, in the case of CDM (and FDM), the CM (cubic metric) may beincreased depending on the number of resources (codes/phase rotations orRBs) in use. Accordingly, the impact of CM on the power setting forPUCCH may be taken into consideration, that is, to apply a power backoffby an amount of the CM increase, if any.

In another embodiment, UCI signaling over both PUCCH and PUSCH in thesame subframe (transmitting UCI, for example high volume UCI, on bothPUSCH and PUCCH(s) from a UE) may be implemented, for example whenasymmetric carrier aggregation, higher order DL MIMO, and/or COMP is inuse. For signaling UCI on both PUCCH(s) and PUSCH (simultaneous PUCCHand PUSCH transmission for UCI) in the same subframe, ACK/NACK and/or SRmay be multiplexed with CQI/PMI/RI such that ACK/NACK and/or SR may betransmitted on PUCCH while in the same subframe (periodic or aperiodic)CQI/PMI/RI signaling may be carried out on PUSCH (or vice versa). Insome embodiments, a UE with no user data to transmit may be configuredto send UCI on PUSCH without UL data. For instance, a UE in DL COMP maytransmit UCI (including ACK/NACK, CQI/PMI/RI, and SR) associated withthe serving (anchor) cell over the PUSCH intended for the serving cell,while in the same subframe the UE may transmit other control information(e.g., CQI/PMI) targeting non-serving (anchor) cells over apre-specified PUCCH(s) for that recipient cell(s), or vice-versa.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of transmitting UCI on both PUCCH(s) andPUSCH from a UE in DL COMP. In this example, it is assumed that the UEhas UL shared channel (UL-SCH) data transmitted in the subframe. If theUE does not have any data to be transmitted at that time, UCI is sent onPUSCH without UL data. Alternatively or additionally, in the case ofasymmetric CA (e.g., 1 UL carrier and N DL carriers where N>1), the UEmay transmit UCI associated with the DL anchor carrier over either PUSCHor PUCCH(s). At the same time, the UE may transmit UCI for DL non-anchorcarrier(s) over the other physical channel (e.g., unused for the DLanchor carrier). Alternatively, the UE may transmit UCI for DLnon-anchor carrier(s) over PUSCH on a different UL component carrier(CC).

In an LTE-A system embodiment, the power setting for PUSCH and PUCCH,respectively, may be done independently. In the case of transmitting UCIover both PUSCH and PUCCH(s) in the same subframe, when Pmax is reached(i.e., the case of negative power headroom), power backoff approaches,including those described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/703,092referenced herein, such as equal power reduction, relative powerreduction, or power reduction using channel (and/or UCI type) basedpriority, in order to comply with the maximum power limitation.Alternatively or additionally, a UE transmitting UCI using both PUSCHand PUCCH that detects that Pmax is reached may switch to the method oftransmitting UCI using multiple PUCCH resources as disclosed herein. Inanother alternative, such a UE may transmit UCI using PUSCH only.Alternatively, the UE may transmit UCI using PUCCH only possiblydropping low priority UCI fields like CQI/PMI, if any. Exceeding maximumallowed CC transmit power(s) may instead of or in addition to exceedingPmax be considered for these decisions.

In another embodiment, simultaneous periodic PUCCH and aperiodic PUSCHtransmissions for UCI may be implemented. In legacy LTE (R8) systems, inthe event of a collision between periodic CQI/PMI/RI reports andaperiodic CQI/PMI/RI, periodic CQI/PMI/RI reporting is dropped in thatsubframe. However, the UE may be configured to transmit both theaperiodic report and periodic report in the same subframe if necessary.For instance, in asymmetric CA, the UE may be configured to performperiodic CQI/PMI/RI, reporting associated with the DL anchor carrierusing PUCCH and to perform aperiodic CQI/PMI/RI, reporting associatedwith DL non-anchor carrier(s) using the PUSCH, or vice versa, in thesame subframe. When Pmax is reached (i.e., the case of negative powerheadroom), the UE may drop the aperiodic CQI/PMI/RI reporting on thePUSCH. Alternatively, the UE may drop the periodic CQI/PMI/RI reportingon the PUCCH. Exceeding maximum allowed CC transmit power(s) may insteadof or in addition to exceeding Pmax be considered for these decisions.

In another embodiment, high volume UCI may be transmitted on PUSCH. Whenthe UCI payload size is so large (such as the sum of the number of HARQACL/NACK bits and number of payload bits for CQI/PMI/RI is larger than athreshold) that it cannot fit into a PUCCH resource, the UCI may be senton PUSCH with or without UL-SCH data (depending on whether the UE hasbeen scheduled for data transmission or not), similar to LTE UCIsignaling on PUSCH when UE has been scheduled for data transmission onPUSCH. In this embodiment, it may not be necessary for the UE to bescheduled for data transmission on PUSCH to carry the UCI. Rather, theUE may be configured by higher layer signaling or L1/2 signaling whenthe UCI is to be carried on PUSCH.

An eNodeB may configure a UE to transmit UCI on both PUCCH and PUSCH, orconfigure a UE to not transmit UCI on both PUCCH and PUSCH, for exampledepending on the UE's capability, DL/UL configuration/service, channelcondition, PUSCH/PUCCH resource availability, and/or UE transmit poweravailability. The configuration may be given to the UE through L1/2signaling or higher layer signaling. For transmitting UCI on bothPUCCH(s) and PUSCH in the same subframe, after calculating the powerlevels for the PUCCH and PUSCH, respectively, if the sum of the powersexceeds Pmax, then power backoff approaches may be used (including thosedescribed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/703,092 referencedherein), such as the respective channel transmit power may beadjusted/reduced with an equal power or a relative power (depending onthe priority of the individual channel), or a predefined offset, inorder to comply with the maximum power limitation. In yet anotheralternative, the UE may transmit the UCI on the PUCCH only possiblydropping low priority UCI fields like CQI/PMI. In still anotherembodiment, the UE may transmit all the required UCI fields on PUSCHonly with or without uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) data depending onwhether the UE has been scheduled for data transmission or not). In anyof these embodiments, the eNodeB may employ blind detection for theindividual physical channel (i.e., PUCCH and PUSCH) to determine whichphysical channel(s) (or UCI fields) are transmitted in the subframe.Exceeding maximum allowed CC transmit power(s) may instead of or inaddition to exceeding Pmax be considered for these decisions.

In an alternative embodiment, legacy LTE UCI signaling may be performedby a UE with LTE-like DL/UL configuration (such as one-to-one DL/ULspectrum mapping, no COMP). The UCI overhead may be similar to LTE R8.However, unlike LTE R8, the UE may transmit HARQ ACK/NACK on PUCCH (inone embodiment, in order to improve ACK/NACK reliability), while in thesame subframe transmitting aperiodic CQI/PMI/RI on PUSCH.

In another alternative, new PUCCH formats with higher order modulation(16QAM) may be used to support a larger UCI size. These new PUCCHformats may be defined using higher order modulation. As shown in Table2, new PUCCH formats are introduced using 16QAM, (format 3, 4/4a/4b/4c).The PDCCH format 3 may be used for carrying 4 bits of ACK/NACK (possiblywith SR). For example, 4 bits of ACK/NACK may be used in carrieraggregation (for example, 2 DL carriers with SM MIMO and 1 UL carrier).The PUCCH format 4/4a/4b/4c may be used to feedback 40 coded bits ofCQI/PMI/RI bits (with ACK/NACK in 4a/4b/4c) in LTE-A. For the newformats disclosed herein, the power setting for PUCCH may include apower offset to accommodate the usage of higher order modulation, 16 QAM(i.e., to reflect the fact that different SINR is required for differentmodulation schemes).

TABLE 2 Extended PUCCH formats PUCCH Modulation Number of bits perFormat Scheme subframe, M_(bit) UCI field(s) 1  N/A N/A SR 1a BPSK 1ACK/NACK (SR) 1b QPSK 2 ACK/NACK (SR) 2  QPSK 20 CQI/PMI/RI 2a QPSK +BPSK 21 CQI/PMI/RI & ACK/NACK 2b QPSK + QPSK 22 CQI/PMI/RI & ACK/NACK 3 16QAM 4 ACK/NACK (&SR) 4  16QAM 40 CQI/PMI/RI 4a 16QAM + BPSK 41CQI/PMI/RI & ACK/NACK 4b 16QAM + QPSK 42 CQI/PMI/RI & ACK/NACK 4c16QAM + 16QAM 44 CQI/PMI/RI & ACK/NACK

Note that in all of the embodiments set forth above using LTE-A UCIsignaling, the eNodeB may configure the UE to transmit UCI by L1/2signaling or higher layer signaling.

In an alternative embodiment, simultaneous PUCCH and SRS transmissionsmay be used in an LTE-A system that supports simultaneous PUCCH(s) (andPUSCH) and SRS transmissions in the SRS symbol location (last OFDMsymbol). In such embodiments, a UE may transmit SRS even though SRS andPUCCH format 1/1a/1b (including normal PUCCH format 1/1a/1b) and/or2/2a/2b (and potentially formats 3/4/4a/4b/4c as set forth herein) andthe transmission occur in the same subframe simplifying suchtransmissions in an LTE-A system.

In another embodiment, UCI signaling may be performed in LTE-A systemsthat implement UL MIMO. Several MIMO modes for PUSCH may be usedincluding spatial multiplexing (SM) MIMO (such as open loop and closedloop SM MIMO), beamforming (BF), and transmit diversity (such as cyclicdelay diversity (CDD), space-time block coding (STBC), space-frequencyblock coding (SFBC), spatial-orthogonal resource transmit diversity(SORTD), etc). An LTE-A system configured according to the presentdisclosure may use any of the following MIMO modes for UCI signaling.For UCI transmission on PUCCH, any of the following MIMO options may beimplemented:

-   -   beamforming with one layer (In this case, the eNodeB provides a        codebook or PMI feedback for the UE.);    -   CDD transmission (tx) diversity;    -   STBC/SFBC/SORTD;    -   antenna switching (In this case, antenna switching may be done        on an OFDM symbol basis or slot basis.); and    -   when simultaneous PUSCH and PUCCH transmission in UL MIMO is        implemented where UCI is transmitted on PUCCH, any one of the        above MIMO options may be used for PUCCH regardless of the MIMO        mode for PUSCH.

For UCI transmission on PUSCH, in one embodiment a UL MIMO scheme forthe UCI part in PUSCH may be applied independently of the UL MIMO forthe data part where the MIMO scheme for the UCI part may be any one ofthe following:

-   -   beamforming with one layer;    -   CDD tx diversity;    -   STBC/SFBC;    -   antenna switching (In this case, antenna switching may be done        on a OFDM symbol basis or slot basis.);    -   antenna selection; and    -   the same MIMO mode as the data part of PUSCH may be applied for        the UCI part.

In another embodiment, the UE may transmit all UCI bits on PUSCH onlywhere a large UCI size may be used for LTE-A UCI transmission.

Methods and systems will now be described providing more detailedembodiments of simultaneous PUCCH/PUSCH UCI transmissions. Methods andsystems are provided that allow a UE to determine which, if any, of theUCI bits to transmit on PUCCH and which, if any, to transmit on PUSCH.For a UE with user data to transmit on PUSCH, UCI transmitted on PUSCHmay be transmitted along with the data. For PUSCH transmissions withoutuser data, only the UCI may be transmitted on the PUSCH. In the belowembodiments, the UCI bits may include the UCI for the given subframe forall of the active (or configured) downlink component carriers (DL CCs).Based on various factors such as scheduling, eNodeB requests, and DLtransmissions, UCI bits for a given DL CC may include one or more ofACK/NACK bits (actual bits or bits reserved for ACK/NACK even if notsent), CQI bits, PMI bits, RI bits, other types of feedback bits (suchas long-term (also called outerloop) PMI or short-term (also calledinnerloop) PMI), and any other control bits that a UE may send to theradio network. Different DL CCs may have different UCI bit types to betransmitted in a given subframe. Any one or more DL CCs may have no UCIbits to be transmitted in a given subframe. UCI bits may also includetypes of control bits not specifically related to DL CCs.

Note that CQI and PMI reports are typically reported together and arereferred to as CQI/PMI reports herein. However, such reports may bereported separately, and the embodiments herein may be easily extendedto such embodiments. As a variation to each of the methods andembodiments described herein, PUCCH may be extended to mean multiplePUCCHs if multiple PUCCHs are allocated in a given subframe and areallowed to carry UCI.

In an embodiment, a decision may be made as to how UCI is to betransmitted based on the number of UCI bits to transmit (which may alsobe referred to as the UCI payload size) within a subframe. FIG. 6illustrates a method of implementing such an embodiment. At block 610, adetermination is made as to the number of UCI bits to be transmitted. Inone embodiment, this determination may exclude any aperiodic CQI/PMI/RIreporting bits and any other aperiodic reporting bits. Other embodimentsmay include such aperiodic reporting bits.

At block 620, a determination may be made as to whether the number ofUCI bits is less than or equal to some number N. N may be pre-configuredon a UE or signaled to a UE by an eNodeB. The value of N may be afunction of PUCCH format such that there may be a different value of Nfor each PUCCH format. If the number of UCI bits is less than or equalto N, the UE may prepare to transmit all the UCI bits on the PUCCH atblock 630. If the number of UCI bits is greater than N, the UE mayprepare to transmit a subset of the UCI bits on PUCCH and the rest ofthe UCI bits on PUSCH at block 640. For example, the UE may prepare totransmit ACK/NACK bits on PUCCH and the remaining UCI bits (such as CQI,PMI, and RI bits) on PUSCH. Alternatively, a determination may be madeat block 650 as to whether the number of UCI bits is greater than N′,where N′>N. N′ may be pre-configured on a UE or signaled to a UE by aneNodeB. The value of N′ may be a function of PUCCH format such thatthere may be a different value of N′ for each PUCCH format. In thisembodiment, if the number of UCI bits is greater than N′, then at block660 the UE may prepare to transmit all the UCI bits on the PUSCH andnone on the PUCCH. If the number of UCI bits is greater than N but lessthan or equal to N′, the UE may prepare to transmit a subset of the UCIbits on PUCCH and the rest of the UCI bits on PUSCH at block 640. Inanother alternative, if the number of UCI bits is determined to begreater than N at block 620, then the UE may prepare to transmit all theUCI bits on the PUSCH and none on the PUCCH at block 660.

Note that barring other changes or determinations that may need to bemade, such UCI bits may be transmitted without further adjustment.Throughout the present disclosure, a UE may be described as “preparingto transmit” UCI bits rather than merely transmitting such bits to allowfor the possibility of additional adjustments before transmission of theUCI bits. For example, a UE may prepare to transmit UCI bits using bothPUCCH and PUSCH, but may later determine that a power threshold would bereached by such a transmission (as described in more detail below) andtherefore may actually transmit UCI bits using only one of PUCCH andPUSCH.

In an alternative embodiment, a UE may determine whether the UCI payloadfits on the allocated PUCCH to determine how it will transmit UCI. FIG.7 illustrates a method of implementing such an embodiment. At block 710,a determination is made as to the number of UCI bits to be transmitted(also referred to as the size of the UCI payload). In one embodiment,this determination may exclude any aperiodic CQI/PMI/RI reporting bitsand any other aperiodic reporting bits. Other embodiments may includesuch aperiodic reporting bits.

At block 720, a determination is made as to whether all of the UCI bitswill fit on the allocated PUCCH. If all of the UCI bits will fit on theallocated PUCCH, at block 730 the UE may prepare to transmit all the UCIbits on the PUCCH and none on the PUSCH. If the number of UCI bits doesnot fit on the PUCCH, at block 740 the UE may prepare to transmit asubset of the bits on PUCCH and the rest on PUSCH. For example, the UEmay prepare to transmit ACK/NACK bits on PUCCH and the remaining UCIbits (such as CQI, PMI, and RI bits) on PUSCH. As another example, theUE may prepare to transmit the ACK/NACK bits for all the DL CCs and allthe non-ACK/NACK bits (such as CQI, PMI, and RI bits) for as many DL CCsthat will fit on the PUCCH and the non-ACK/NACK bits (such as CQI, PMI,and RI bits) for the other DL CCs on the PUSCH. When determining whetherthe UCI bits will fit on the allocated PUCCH, the UE may consider allthe allowed PUCCH formats for that PUCCH.

In another embodiment, the UE may compare the UCI payload size to one ormore of the data payload size or the PUSCH size (which may also becalled the PUSCH carrying capacity) to determine how it will transmitUCI. A PUSCH size may be measured using one or a number of factors suchas the number of RBs, the number of OFDM symbols, the number of physicalcoded bits, or some combination of these or other factors. FIG. 8illustrates a method of implementing such an embodiment. At block 810, adetermination is made as to the payload size (number of bits) of the UCIto be transmitted. In one embodiment, this determination may exclude anyaperiodic CQI/PMI/RI reporting bits and any other aperiodic reportingbits. Other embodiments may include such aperiodic reporting bits.

At block 820 the UE may determine a relationship between the UCI payloadsize and one or more of the data payload size and the PUSCH size. Forexample, the UE may compare to a threshold N the relative size (forexample percentage) of the UCI payload to the PUSCH size or the relativesize (for example percentage) of the UCI payload to the data payload todetermine how to transmit UCI. N may be pre-configured on a UE orsignaled to a UE by an eNodeB. For example, if the UCI payload sizepercentage of the PUSCH size, or the UCI payload size percentage of thedata payload size, is smaller than the threshold N, the UE may prepareto transmit all UCI on PUSCH at block 830. If the UCI payload sizepercentage of the PUSCH size, or the UCI payload size percentage of thedata payload size, is greater than or equal to the threshold N, the UEmay prepare to transmit some UCI bits on PUCCH and other UCI bits onPUSCH at block 840, or the UE may prepare to transmit all UCI bits onPUCCH at block 850.

In an alternate embodiment, the UE may compare the PUSCH size to athreshold to determine how it will transmit UCI. A PUSCH size may bemeasured using one or a number of factors such as the number of RBs, thenumber of OFDM symbols, the number of physical coded bits, or somecombination of these or other factors. Since this determination isindependent of the UCI payload size, block 810 may be skipped. At block820, the size of the PUSCH may be compared to a threshold value N. N maybe pre-configured on a UE or signaled to a UE by an eNodeB. If thecarrying capacity of the PUSCH is larger than a given threshold N, thenthe UE may prepare to transmit all UCI on PUSCH at block 830. In thecase of a large PUSCH, the performance penalty for combining UCI withthe data on PUSCH may be reduced so it may be desirable to transmit allof the UCI on PUSCH in this case and avoid the potential powerlimitations of simultaneous PUSCH-PUCCH due to maximum power reduction(MPR) effects. If the capacity of PUSCH is less than or equal to N, theUE may prepare to transmit some UCI bits on PUCCH and other UCI bits onPUSCH at block 840. Alternatively, the UE may prepare to transmit allUCI bits on PUCCH at block 850.

In other embodiments, if the UE is allocated a PUSCH and has no userdata to send, the UE may prepare to transmit UCI on PUSCH or acombination of PUCCH and PUSCH depending on the UCI payload size. FIG. 9illustrates a method of implementing such an embodiment. At block 910, adetermination that no user data is available for transmission is made.At block 920, a determination is made as to the number of UCI bits betransmitted. At block 930 a determination is made as to whether all theUCI bits will fit on the PUSCH. If so, at block 940 the UE may prepareto transmit all the UCI on the PUSCH. If the number of UCI bits will notfit on PUSCH, at block 950 the UE may prepare to transmit a subset ofthe UCI on the PUCCH, such as the ACK/NACK bits, and the remainder ofthe UCI bits on the PUSCH. Alternatively, when the number of UCI bitsdoes not fit on PUSCH, at block 950 the UE may prepare to transmit allUCI bits on PUCCH. Note that this may only be possible if the PUCCHcarrying capacity is greater than that of the PUSCH. In theseembodiments, PUSCH may be preferred over the PUCCH when the UCI bitswill fit because when the UE has no data to send, transmitting the UCIon the PUSCH does not affect the performance on the PUSCH.

As a variation in any of these embodiments, if the UCI bits to betransmitted include CQI, PMI, or RI bits associated with aperiodicCQI/PMI or RI reports, the UE may exclude such bits when determining thenumber of UCI bits to be transmitted and/or when determining which bitsmay go on PUCCH. In such embodiments, the UE will always transmit CQI,PMI, and RI bits associated with aperiodic CQI/PMI and RI reports on thePUSCH. Such embodiments may be desirable when aperiodic reports are muchlarger than the periodic reports and are unlikely to fit on PUCCH. Ifadditional aperiodic report types are defined for R10 or in the future,the UE may be configured to also exclude the bits for those reports inthis manner and transmit those bits on the PUSCH always.

For example, if the number of UCI bits excluding any aperiodic CQI/PMIand RI report bits is less than or equal to some number N, oralternatively, less than or equal to the carrying capacity of PUCCH,then the UE may prepare to transmit all the UCI bits, except anyaperiodic CQI/PMI and RI report bits, on the PUCCH, and may prepare totransmit aperiodic CQI/PMI and RI report bits on the PUSCH. If thenumber of UCI bits, excluding any aperiodic CQI/PMI and RI report bits,is greater than N, or alternatively greater than the carrying capacityof PUCCH, then the UE may prepare to transmit a subset of the bits onPUCCH and the rest on PUSCH. For example, in an embodiment the UE mayprepare to transmit ACK/NACK bits on PUCCH and all CQI, PMI, and RI bits(for periodic and aperiodic reports) on PUSCH. Alternatively, if thenumber of UCI bits, excluding any aperiodic CQI/PMI and RI report bits,is greater than N′ (where N′>N), then the UE may prepare to transmit allthe UCI bits on the PUSCH and none on the PUCCH. In another alternative,if the number of UCI bits, excluding any aperiodic CQI/PMI and RI reportbits, is greater than N, then the UE may prepare to transmit all of theUCI bits on the PUSCH and none on the PUCCH. N and N′ may each bepre-configured on a UE or signaled to a UE by an eNodeB. The values of Nand N′ may each be a function of PUCCH format such that there may be adifferent value of N and/or N′ for each PUCCH format.

Note that for any of the embodiments disclosed herein, when determiningthe carrying capacity of PUCCH, the UE may consider all the allowedPUCCH formats for the allocated PUCCH. In each of the embodiments, ifscheduling is such that periodic and aperiodic UCI reports of the sametype would be transmitted simultaneously for a given DL CC, the UE mayomit the periodic report of that type for that CC from transmission andfrom the determination of the UCI payload size.

In other embodiments, a UE may determine how it will transmit UCI basedon the type of UCI bits that it needs to transmit and such determinationmay be based on UCI type priority. In one such embodiment, illustratedin FIG. 10, the types of bits in UCI may be determined at block 1010. Atblock 1020, a determination may be made as to whether any of the UCIbits to be transmitted are ACK/NACK bits. If the UCI bits to betransmitted contain ACK/NACK bits, the UE may prepare to transmit theACK/NACK bits on the PUCCH and all other types of UCI bits on the PUSCHat block 1030. Since the ACK/NACK bits may be the most important bits,they may be sent on the PUCCH for better performance than on the PUSCH.

Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 11, a UE may be configured to knowwhich types of UCI bits fit together on the PUCCH in each of the PUCCHformats and determine how to transmit UCI based on that knowledge. Atblock 1110, the types of bits in UCI to be transmitted may be determinedby a UE. At block 1120 the UE may choose the combination of the highestpriority types that fit together, in one embodiment such that the numberof high priority bits that will be transmitted on PUCCH is maximized. Atblock 1130, the UE may prepare to transmit the combination of thehighest priority types that fit together on the PUCCH using theappropriate PUCCH format. Note that in many embodiments, ACK/NACK hasthe highest priority, RI (or equivalent) has the second highestpriority, and CQI/PMI (or equivalent) follows in priority. The UE maytransmit all other types of UCI on the PUSCH.

In further embodiments, a UE may determine how it will transmit UCI bitsbased on a downlink (DL) configuration, including, for example, a numberof active (or configured) DL CCs and/or the DL transmission mode, suchas the use of multi-antenna techniques. In one such embodiment, if a UEdetermines that the number of DL CCs is one and the DL transmission modeis a transmission mode supported in R8, the UE may prepare to transmitall of the UCI on PUSCH and none on PUCCH. An alternative embodimentusing DL configuration is illustrated in FIG. 12. At block 1210, adetermination may be made as to whether the number of DL CCs is one andthe DL transmission mode is a transmission mode supported in R8-LTE. Ifnot, for example if the number of DL CCs is greater than one, the UE mayprepare to transmit a subset of the (aggregated) UCI bits on the PUCCHand the rest of the UCI bits on the PUSCH at block 1215. The UE maydetermine which bits to transmit on PUCCH and which bits to transmit onPUSCH in accordance with other methods and embodiments described herein.

If there is only one DL CC and the DL transmission mode is atransmission mode supported in R8-LTE, at block 1220, a determinationmay be made as to whether the UCI contains ACK/NACK bits. If so, atblock 1230, the UE may prepare to transmit the ACK/NACK bits on thePUCCH. At block 1240, a determination may be made as to whether thereare periodic CQI/PMI and periodic RI bits in the UCI. If so, the UE mayprepare to transmit the periodic RI bits on PUCCH and the periodicCQI/PMI bits on PUSCH at block 1250. At block 1260, a determination maybe made as to whether there are periodic CQI/PMI bits and no periodic RIbits. If so, the UE may prepare to transmit the periodic CQI/PMI bits onPUCCH at block 1270. At block 1280, a determination may be made as towhether there are periodic RI bits and no periodic CQI/PMI bits. If so,the UE may prepare to transmit the periodic RI bits on PUCCH at block1290. If the UE determines that there are aperiodic UCI report bits, theUE prepares to transmit those on PUSCH.

In some embodiments, a UE may determine how it will transmit UCI basedon UL transmission mode, such as the number of transmit antenna ports,and/or PUSCH configuration, including contiguous PUSCH RB allocation vs.non-contiguous PUSCH RB allocation. In one such embodiment, if a UE isconfigured to transmit PUSCH (carrying two codewords) with multipleantenna ports in a subframe, then the UE may prepare to transmit CQI/PMIbits on the PUSCH and the reminder of the UCI bits (e.g., ACK/NACK bitsand/or RI bits) on PUCCH. Alternatively, the UE may prepare to transmitall of the UCI bits on PUSCH and none on PUCCH.

In other embodiments, if non-contiguous PUSCH RB allocation grant isgiven to a UE, then the UE may prepare to transmit all of the UCI onPUSCH and none on PUCCH. Otherwise (i.e., contiguous PUSCH RB allocationcase), the UE may prepare to transmit UCI bits using one or more methodsdisclosed herein.

In some embodiments, there may be both periodic and aperiodic UCIreports of the same type requested (or scheduled for transmission) for aDL CC in the same subframe. In this case, the UE may transmit (orprepare to transmit) the aperiodic UCI report bits for that CC on PUSCHand the UE may drop (not transmit) the periodic report for that type forthat CC. FIG. 13 illustrates one method of implementing such anembodiment. At block 1310, a determination may be made that there areboth periodic and aperiodic reports of the same type requested (orscheduled for transmission) for a DL CC in the same subframe. At block1320, the UE may drop (not transmit) the periodic report for that typefor that CC. At block 1330, the remaining UCI contents may betransmitted or prepared for transmission, in some embodiments using oneor more methods disclosed herein.

In some embodiments, there may be both periodic and aperiodic UCIreports requested for different DL CCs in the same subframe. For examplethere may be a periodic UCI report requested for one DL CC, while theremay be an aperiodic UCI report requested for another DL CC. In thiscase, the UE may transmit (or prepare to transmit) the periodic UCIreport bits on PUCCH and the aperiodic UCI report bits on PUSCH or viceversa.

In other embodiments, a UE may use DL CC priority to determine how itwill transmit UCI where the primary DL CC has the highest priority. FIG.14 illustrates one method of implementing such an embodiment. At block1410, a UE may determine whether any of the UCI bits are for a primaryDL CC. If not, at block 1420, the UE may prepare to transmit all of theUCI on PUSCH. If there are bits of the UCI that are for a primary DL CC,then at block 1430, the bits associated with the primary DL CC may beprepared for transmission by the UE on the PUCCH, while the remainingbits of the UCI may be prepared for transmission on the PUSCH in thesame subframe. For example, if the UCI consists of multiple periodicCQI/PMI reports to be transmitted in a given subframe, and one of thereports is for the primary DL CC, then, at block 1430, the UE mayprepare to transmit the CQI/PMI report for the primary DL CC on thePUCCH and the other reports on the PUSCH. If none of the reports is forthe primary DL CC, the UE may prepare to transmit all the reports on thePUSCH at block 1420.

Note that if it is determined at block 1410 that there are no bits to betransmitted for the primary DL CC, instead of transmitting all the UCIbits on PUSCH in block 1420, the UE may prepare to transmit the UCI bitsfor the next highest priority DL CC (as determined, for example, by theconfiguration order, DL CC index or ID, or any other means known to theUE and/or the eNodeB) on the PUCCH and the UCI for the other DL CCs onthe PUSCH at block 1440. For example if the UCI consists of multipleperiodic CQI/PMI reports to be transmitted in a given subframe, and noneof the reports is for the primary DL CC, then the UE may prepare totransmit the CQI/PMI report for the next highest priority DL CC on thePUCCH and the other reports on the PUSCH. Options and alternatives forthis next priority DL CC are as described herein for the primary DL CC.

Alternatively, if the UE is configured to be aware that only certaincombinations of UCI types will fit on the PUCCH, when using the allowedPUCCH formats for the allocated PUCCH, then the UE may prepare totransmit the combination of the highest priority UCI types for theprimary DL CC (for example ACK/NACK and periodic RI if periodic RI is tobe transmitted; ACK/NACK and periodic CQI/PMI otherwise) on PUCCH andthe other UCI types for the primary DL CC on the PUSCH at block 1430.Alternatively, the UE may drop the bits for the other UCI types for theprimary DL CC. If there are no UCI bits for the primary DL CC, the sameprinciples may be applied to the highest priority DL CC for which thereis UCI at block 1440.

In another alternative, if the UCI to be transmitted in a given subframeincludes ACK/NACK and a periodic CQI/PMI report for the primary DL CC,then the UE may prepare to transmit the ACK/NACK and periodic CQI/PMIreport for the primary DL CC on the PUCCH and the other UCI bits on thePUSCH at block 1430. If there are no UCI bits for the primary DL CC, thesame principles may be applied to the highest priority DL CC for whichthere is UCI at block 1440.

In some embodiments, a UE may determine how it will transmit UCI bitsbased on an explicit grant for UCI (e.g., for periodic CQI/PMI/RIreports.) In such embodiments, an eNodeB may explicitly provide a ULgrant to a UE to transmit UCI without user data, for example via a newor modified DCI format or via higher layer signaling. For example, theeNodeB may provide an UL grant to the UE to transmit periodic reportssuch as for CQI/PMI or RI bits when it is aware that the UE does nothave data to send and the scheduled UCI reports will not fit in PUCCH.In one embodiment, if the UE receives such a grant, the UE may prepareto transmit the UCI on the PUSCH only, in accordance with the grant. Inanother embodiment, the UE may split the UCI between PUCCH and PUSCH inaccordance with one or more of the other embodiments described herein.

Note that in any of the methods and embodiments disclosed herein, afurther determination of how UCI bits are to be transmitted may be madeby a UE and/or an eNodeB based on whether or not a maximum powerthreshold has or will be met or exceeded. FIG. 15 illustrates a methodof implementing one such embodiment. At block 1510, a UE may make adecision as to how to transmit UCI. Any means or method of transmittingUCI may be determined at block 1510, including splitting UCI betweenPUCCH and PUSCH in the same subframe, for example in accordance with anyof the other embodiments disclosed herein. At block 1520, the UE maydetermine the power needed for transmission of the UCI using the meansdetermined at block 1510. At block 1530, the UE may determine whetherthe power needed for transmission will exceed the maximum allowed power.If the maximum power will not be exceeded, at block 1540, the UCI bitswill be transmitted according to the preferred method determined atblock 1510. Decisions regarding whether maximum power will be exceededmay include one or more of the power limits configured or otherwiseknown to the UE such as CC maximum transmit power(s) and UE maximumtransmit power.

If, at block 1530, it is determined that the maximum allowed power willbe exceeded, the UE may take one or more alternate courses of action. Inone embodiment, the UE may scale one or more of the PUCCH and PUSCHpower at block 1550. Note that scaling methods and means that may beemployed include, but are not limited to, those set forth in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/703,092 referenced herein.

Alternatively, if, at block 1530, it is determined that the maximumallowed power will be exceeded, the UE may transmit all the UCI on PUSCHat block 1560. Transmitting all the UCI on PUSCH eliminates MPR effectsresulting from simultaneous PUSCH-PUCCH transmission which can reducemaximum allowed power.

In another alternative, if the UE determines that the maximum allowedpower will be exceeded at block 1530, at block 1570 the UE may determineif transmitting all the UCI on PUSCH exceeds the maximum allowed powerlevel. If transmitting all the UCI on PUSCH does not exceed the maximumallowed power level, transmitting all the UCI on PUSCH will eliminatethe need to scale the power before transmission. If transmitting UCI onPUSCH will eliminate the need to scale the power, the UE may transmitall the UCI on PUSCH at block 1560. If transmitting all the UCI on PUSCHwill not eliminate the need to scale the power, the UE may keep itsoriginal decision on UCI transmission method, for example splitting UCIacross PUCCH and PUSCH in the same subframe, and scale the power on thePUCCH and the PUSCH at block 1580 in any manner as described for block1550 such as based on the priorities of the channels. In suchembodiments, the UCI on the PUCCH may be preserved since the PUCCH mayhave the highest priority.

Note that in any of the methods and embodiments disclosed herein, PUCCHand PUSCH may be transmitted over the same or different UL CCs. Thesemethods and embodiments are applicable in both cases. An example fortransmission on different UL CCs is PUCCH may be transmitted on theprimary UL CC, while PUSCH may be transmitted on other UL CC.

In some LTE-A systems and implementations, multiple PUSCHs may be usedper subframe. In such embodiments, a UE may have to determine on whichPUSCH to transmit UCI bits when it has determined that any UCI bits areto be transmitted on PUSCH rather than, or in addition to, on PUCCH.Such bits are referred to herein as “UCI bits for PUSCH.”

In one such embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 16, a UE may first determinewhether multiple PUSCHs are in use or available at block 1610. If not,then at block 1620, the UE may prepare to transmit any UCI bits that areintended for transmission on PUSCH on the available PUSCH. If there aremultiple PUSCHs available, a UE may choose a PUSCH for transmission ofUCI based on PUSCH size (carrying capacity) at block 1630. In anembodiment, the UE may prepare to transmit the UCI bits for PUSCH on thePUSCH having a largest size (or carrying capacity). PUSCH size may bemeasured using one or a number of factors such as the number of RBs, thenumber of OFDM symbols, the number of physical coded bits, or somecombination of these or other factors. Alternatively, at block 1630 theUE may choose the PUSCH based on the relationship between two or more ofthe UCI payload size, the PUSCH data payload size and the PUSCH carryingcapacity. For example, the UE may transmit the UCI bits for PUSCH on thePUSCH for which the UCI payload size relative to (for example percentageof) the total payload size or the UCI payload size relative to (forexample percentage of) the data payload is the smallest. Each of theseembodiments may reduce the performance impact of including UCI with dataon PUSCH. At block 1640, the UE may prepare to transmit the UCI bits forPUSCH on the PUSCH selected at block 1630.

In alternative embodiments, upon determining that there are multiplePUSCHs at block 1610, a UE may determine whether there is a primary ULCC that has a PUSCH at block 1650. If so, the UE may prepare to transmitthe UCI bits for PUSCH on the primary UL CC's PUSCH at block 1660. Theprimary UL CC may be a UL CC that has been paired with the primary DLCC. If there is no PUSCH on a primary UL CC, a PUSCH may be selectedusing the means of block 1630 or any other means or method. Inalternative embodiments, the UE may choose the PUSCH for transmission ofUCI bits to be the PUSCH on the UL CC which is configured, or designatedin some way, by the eNodeB for the UE to transmit ACK/NACK bits on.

In some embodiments, a UE may choose the PUSCH for transmission based onan explicit signaling or grant, such as a grant for an aperiodic UCIreport request. In one such embodiment, the UE may prepare to transmitthe UCI bits for PUSCH on the PUSCH explicitly designated by the eNodeBvia L1 or higher layer signaling. In one alternative, if the eNodeBprovides an UL grant specifically for UCI, the UE may prepare totransmit the UCI for PUSCH on the allocated PUSCH. In anotheralternative, if the UE receives a PDCCH having an aperiodic UCI requestbit (or aperiodic request bit set to “1”), the UE may prepare totransmit the UCI bits for PUSCH on the PUSCH associated with thisrequest by the PDCCH. Such UCI bits may include the aperiodic UCI reportbits and all other UCI bits to be transmitted on the PUSCH.

Although features and elements of the embodiments and methods disclosedherein are described above in particular combinations, each feature orelement can be used alone without the other features and elements or invarious combinations with or without other features and elements. Themethods or flow charts provided herein may be implemented in a computerprogram, software, or firmware incorporated in a computer-readablestorage medium for execution by a general purpose computer or aprocessor. Examples of computer-readable storage mediums include a readonly memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a register, cachememory, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic media such as internalhard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical media, and optical mediasuch as CD-ROM disks, and digital versatile disks (DVDs).

Suitable processors include, by way of example, a general purposeprocessor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, adigital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, amicrocontroller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), FieldProgrammable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) circuits, any other type of integratedcircuit (IC), and/or a state machine.

A processor in association with software may be used to implement aradio frequency transceiver for use in a wireless transmit receive unit(WTRU), user equipment (UE), terminal, base station, radio networkcontroller (RNC), or any host computer. A UE may be used in conjunctionwith modules, implemented in hardware and/or software, such as a camera,a video camera module, a videophone, a speakerphone, a vibration device,a speaker, a microphone, a television transceiver, a hands free headset,a keyboard, a Bluetooth™ module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit,a liquid crystal display (LCD) display unit, an organic light-emittingdiode (OLED) display unit, a digital music player, a media player, avideo game player module, an Internet browser, and/or any wireless localarea network (WLAN) or Ultra Wide Band (UWB) module.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. A method for transmitting uplink controlinformation, the method comprising: a wireless transmit/receive unit(WTRU) determining that uplink control information is to be transmittedin a time interval and that the uplink control information comprises afirst subset of uplink control information bits and a second subset ofuplink control information bits, wherein the first subset of uplinkcontrol information bits comprise at least a first type of uplinkcontrol information and the second subset of uplink control informationbits comprise at least a second type of uplink control information;determining that the WTRU is to perform simultaneous transmissions on afirst channel and a second channel during at least the time interval,wherein one of the first channel or the second channel is capable oftransmitting data information; and transmitting, during the timeinterval, the first subset of uplink control information bits on thefirst channel and transmitting, during the time interval, the secondsubset of uplink control information bits on the second channel.
 22. Themethod of claim 21 comprising the WTRU receiving a configurationindicating whether the WTRU is configured to transmit simultaneously onthe first channel and the second channel.
 23. The method of claim 21,wherein the uplink control information to be transmitted in the timeinterval comprises at least the first type of uplink control informationand at least the second type of uplink control information.
 24. Themethod of claim 21, wherein the first subset of uplink controlinformation bits comprises at least one of the following: a hybridautomatic repeat request, (HARQ) positive acknowledgement (ACK) a HARQnegative acknowledgment (NACK), or a scheduling request (SR).
 25. Themethod of claim 21, wherein the second subset of uplink controlinformation bits comprises at least one of the following: a periodicchannel quality indicator (CQI), an aperiodic CQI, a periodic precodingmatrix index (PMI), an aperiodic PMI, a periodic rank indicator (RI),and an aperiodic RI.
 26. The method of claim 21, wherein one of thefirst channel or the second channel is an uplink data channel and theother is an uplink control channel.
 27. A wireless transmit/receive unit(WTRU) comprising: a process configured to at least: determine thatuplink control information is to be transmitted in a time interval andthat the uplink control information comprises a first subset of uplinkcontrol information bits and a second subset of uplink controlinformation bits, wherein the first subset of uplink control informationbits comprise at least a first type of uplink control information andthe second subset of uplink control information bits comprise at least asecond type of uplink control information; determine that the WTRU is toperform simultaneous transmissions on a first channel and a secondchannel during at least the time interval, wherein one of the firstchannel or the second channel is capable of transmitting datainformation; and a transmitter configured at least to transmit, duringthe time interval, the first subset of uplink control information bitson the first channel and transmitting, during the time interval, thesecond subset of uplink control information bits on the second channel.28. The WTRU of claim 27 comprising a receiver configured to at leastreceive a configuration indicating whether the WTRU is configured totransmit simultaneously on the first channel and the second channel. 29.The WTRU of claim 27, wherein the uplink control information to betransmitted in the time interval comprises at least the first type ofuplink control information and at least the second type of uplinkcontrol information.
 30. The WTRU of claim 27, wherein the first subsetof uplink control information bits comprises at least one of thefollowing: a hybrid automatic repeat request, (HARQ) positiveacknowledgement (ACK) a HARQ negative acknowledgment (NACK), or ascheduling request (SR).
 31. The WTRU of claim 27, wherein the secondsubset of uplink control information bits comprises at least one of thefollowing: a periodic channel quality indicator (CQI), an aperiodic CQI,a periodic precoding matrix index (PMI), an aperiodic PMI, a periodicrank indicator (RI), and an aperiodic RI.
 32. The WTRU of claim 27,wherein one of the first channel or the second channel is an uplink datachannel and the other is an uplink control channel.